


Vanishing

by orphan_account



Series: BF'verse [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Bad Wolf, F/M, M/M, Threesome, Time War, break free verse, dark!Doctor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-10 23:53:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5605732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to "Break Free": After Rose finds out that Bad Wolf has changed her DNA, she makes her way to her original universe, leaving Alec Hardy and her family behind. (Repost with changes).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is me reposting "Vanishing" chapter by chapter. There are some things I've wanted to change in the story and I'll mention in the notes before each chapter if it is one that I've changed in any way. This first chapter is the same as before. 
> 
> Beta: Diomede

Rose turned the TARDIS coral over and over in her hands, deep in thought as she sat on her bed at her parents’ home. Today was the day that she was using the cannon – the day she would leave everyone behind. In fact, it was only two hours away. Pete, Mickey, and Jake were busy preparing everything; Pete would be coming back soon to pick her and the rest up from the house.

Rose made sure that she and Alec went over to Ellie’s for one last dinner before she left. Tears were shed as goodbyes were made, but everything was left on good terms. Rose had pulled her aside to make sure to keep an eye on Alec, which she quickly agreed to.

Not long after Rose and Alec came back to London, Mickey and Rose worked up the best chance for her to make it back to the Doctor. They knew the rip would allow her to cross dimensions, they speculated it would allow her to get back to her original universe, and they were only hopeful that it would allow her straight access to the Doctor.

She had opted to keep the coral in the same room as the dimension cannon. When she walked into the room with her TARDIS key – which she had kept safe inside her jewelry box from her room at the mansion – one morning, she was surprised to see the coral begin to pulse golden light and feel the key white hot against her chest.

The hope quickly turned probable, and with two days to spare, she was ready to go.

“Rose?”

Rose’s head snapped up at the sound of Alec’s voice. She tried to smile, but it came out more of a grimace. These were the last few hours she would ever have with this man. This thought brought tears to her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. “Hey. Everything all right downstairs?”

He sighed and moved away from the door to take a seat next to her. “What do you think?” She looked down in shame and set the coral down on her nightstand.

Alec immediately felt remorseful and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” She simply nodded, but tucked her head under his chin.

He began to softly stroke her upper arm. “Your mum wanted to come up here, but I figured you needed a bit of time to yourself. Or, well, I’m here.” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I mean…I know how your mother can be and thought it might be a bit too much right now. But you should really go down there, Rose. This will be your last chance.”

Rose turned her face into Alec’s shirt and breathed in. “Of course I will. Let’s just…for a few minutes.” She pulled back. “This’ll probably be our last time…”

He nodded so she did not have to go on. It would most likely be their last time alone.

She grabbed one of his hands and held it close to her heart, having to fight off tears once again. “Alec, I-“

He cut her off with a kiss, his tongue delving into her still-open mouth. Rose was quick to sink into it, wrapping her arms around his neck and tilting her head to deepen the kiss.

Alec gripped her around the waist and leaned forward so she would lie on her back. He moved more onto the bed so that one knee was placed between hers and the other was kneeling next to her hip. When she moaned into his mouth, he began to press kisses down her throat and collarbone.

“Oh god, stop,” Rose pleaded breathlessly, pulling away from him. When he rose to look at her with confused eyes and heavy breaths, she smiled adoringly. “Sorry, it’s just we shouldn’t do this here. My family’s right downstairs…”

He visibly relaxed and moved back toward her to nibble on her earlobe. “We can close the door and keep quiet.”

She closed her eyes and gripped his arm as pleasure coursed through her. She seriously considered taking him up on the offer, but the sound of her mother scolding Tony broke her out of her reverie. She quickly pulled back and gave him a look. “I don’t trust it.”

He sighed deeply and closed his eyes as he caught his bearings, still holding her tightly. His head was tilted down and his brow was furrowed. “Aye. Right. You’re right. Sorry.”

She looked at his forlorn frame sympathetically and longingly. “It’s not that I don’t want to-“

“I know.” He opened his eyes and smiled at her, standing from the bed and holding his hand out. “C’mon. Your mum is bound to be stomping up the stairs any minute.”

She bit her lip and nodded. She grabbed his hand and smiled wanly. “I’m sorry.”

His expression softened considerably and he pulled her in for a tame, yet lingering, kiss. “Rose, please don’t apologize for anything. I’ll take this bit of time I have left with you anyway I can.” When she flinched, he winced. “I mean…”

She shook her head and kissed him back. “I know what you mean.” She broke the embrace and began to pull him toward the door. “Time to face the music.”

The moment Jackie set eyes on her daughter, she pulled the girl into her arms. “Oh, honey. Are you sure about this? We can figure something out-“

“Mum.” Rose clutched at Jackie, a tear slipping from the corner of her eye. “You know I have to.”

“You don’t have to do anything-“

“I want to.” She winced inwardly, suddenly hyper-aware of Alec’s presence behind her. She swallowed thickly and let her mother go and looked down at her little brother, who was clinging to Jackie’s pant leg. “You’ve still got Tony.”

Jackie gave her a look, but bit her tongue as she bent down to pick Tony up. “Course I do. Already like his sister, little daredevil,” she cooed at the boy, who giggled. He wasn’t quite old enough to understand what was happening.

“Just like Wose.” He turned and grinned at his sister, which caused another tear to fall from Rose.

“I can vouch for that.”

Rose startled at the sound of Alec’s voice, given her attention had been drawn to Tony. Her thoughts drifted back to her earlier statement, but when she turned to look at him he had a smile on his face.

He walked nearer and wrapped an arm around Rose’s waist. “Wee lad tried to hop off of the table onto my back just a bit ago.” He gave Tony an admonishing look, but it lost its power by the small smirk playing on his lips.

Rose leaned into him, her eyes on her mother and brother. “Can’t do that kinda stuff to Alec, you know that.”

“Well, he can now,” Alec murmured into her ear. He straightened back up, the smirk returning. “Doesn’t mean you should, though.”

The front door opened, causing everyone to glance the way of the foyer.

“Looks like your father’s home.” Jackie began to walk toward the noise, Tony still in her arms.

Rose sighed and dropped her head to Alec’s shoulder. “I should go get my bag.”

He kissed the top of her head and stepped away. “I’ll go. You spend time with your family.”

She smiled gratefully “The coral is on the nightstand.” She then followed her mother while he headed up the stairs.

Pete’s eyes fell on Rose and he smiled, motioning for her to give him a hug. When she obliged, he squeezed her with one arm while the other fumbled for the keys he had dropped on the front table. “Hello, love. You ready to go?” His eyes were guarded and his face showed no signs of anything wrong. He felt he needed to be strong for his family during this trying time; he didn’t have the history Jackie and Mickey had with Rose nor the easy connection that Alec provided.

Rose nodded and glanced toward the staircase. “Alec is just getting my bag, and then we can go.”

Despite light superficial conversation, there was a solemn aura in the air. Jackie kept the talk centered around Tony and how prepared he’ll be for his upcoming schooling, and both Rose and Pete quickly played along.

Voices dissipated as Alec’s footsteps trekked down the stairs and to the front. He held fast onto the bag when Rose went to grab it. He’d be damned if he didn’t hold onto every part of her he can until she was gone.

oOo

Rose once again held the coral in her hand. Mickey was explaining the process of what would happen when she used the jumper, but all she could focus on was Alec’s warm hand in hers and her mother’s soft sniffles from her father’s side.

“You ready?” Mickey placed a hand on Rose’s shoulder and gripped it firmly, a deep frown on his face. She had already said her goodbyes to Jake and the other members she had grown close to before the debriefing.

She turned to him, dropping Alec’s hand, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “As much as I’ll ever be.” She kissed his cheek firmly. “Thank you, Mickey. For everything.”

“’Course, babe.” He gave an inconsequential sniff, but Rose didn’t comment.

When Rose turned to Jackie, Tony, and Pete, she couldn’t stop the overflow of tears. She could remember not too many years ago when she had given her mother up for the Doctor. Here she was about to do it again; at least now her mother had a family – the one she really deserved.

She walked over to Jackie with shaky steps. “Oh, mum…”

“C’mere, sweetheart,” Jackie whispered and gave Tony to Pete, then pulled Rose in for a hug. She clutched onto Rose tightly and her shoulder shook with quiet sobs.

Rose buried her face into the crook of Jackie’s neck. “I love you so much, mum. I promise we’ll find a way come back sometimes. You know the Doctor; he’ll find a way.”

Jackie sobbed harder.

Rose felt her face crumple as her own soft sobs came forth. “You’ll have such an amazing life, with dad and Tony. He’s gettin’ so big. I expect you to be tellin’ stories of me so he knows who I am when we visit, yeah?”

Jackie nodded, rocking them on their feet. “Don’t be daft. Of course I will.” She pulled back and stared in Rose’s eyes, stroking her cheek. “My brave little girl. I’m so proud of you.”

Rose smiled through her tears. “You, too.” She took a deep breath and turned to the other two, Tony’s face scrunched up in innocent confusion. “You be good for mum, Tony. You know how we said I have to go away, yeah?”

Tony blinked and nodded, his tiny fist clutching at his dad’s collar. “To find the Doctah.”

Rose couldn’t help but laugh as she reached forward and pushed a lock of strawberry blond hair out of the boy’s face. “Yep, to find the Doctor. That means you’re in charge and have to take care of mummy, all right?” She knew she couldn’t properly say goodbye to this young boy, so she trusted in her parents to explain everything when he’s older.

Next, Pete put Tony on the ground and pulled Rose in. “Just like your mum, I’m so proud of you. You’ve done so much for everyone here, Rose. Defending the Earth,” he pulled back and glanced at Jackie, “and defending me from that slap of your mother’s, eh?”

Rose laughed and wiped away her tears. “Pure sympathy.” She smiled and gripped his hands. “I love you, dad.” She turned before she could see the tears in Pete’s eyes.

Alec stood with Rose’s brown leather bag in one hand and the jumper in the other, looking at her through cautious eyes. She slowly walked over to him, rubbing the piece of coral with her thumb, and took her place beside him. She took a deep breath and allowed Alec to slide the straps over her shoulders and the jumper over her neck.

He stood back, keeping both of his hands on her arms. “Just please…please don’t forget me. Because I promise I will never forget you.”

Her chest jumped with a suppressed sob and she nodded. “Of course I won’t. You know I won’t.” She leaned forward and kissed him softly, not trusting anything more. She pulled away only enough to say, “I love you.”

“I love you, too. So much.” Alec took in a shaky breath, his eyes squeezed tight, and then he pulled away.

Rose turned from them and stepped up to the slightly wave-like air and brushed her thumb against the big yellow button. She turned one last time to everyone in the room, committing them all to memory.

The one adventure I could never have.

She pressed the button.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter also has no changes. 
> 
> To put some back story: for the Doctor, he did get hit by the Dalek. He still put the regeneration energy in his hand so as to not get stuck with regeneration sickness while the end of the universe was playing out (because I don't buy Moffat's "vanity" bull). 
> 
> Also, keep in mind this is a Dark!Doctor story. He will be a bit different than expected due to me playing on the extremes of what could have happened to him.
> 
> Beta done by the lovely Diomede.
> 
> Enjoy!

The first thing Rose noticed was the cold. The next thing was the snow on the ground. And then:

“Is this it? My death? Is it time?”

In front of her was the Doctor, on his knees and gripping onto the TARDIS like a lifeline. Her own TARDIS coral was pulsing brighter than she had ever seen it. It must have locked on to her mother – or what she figured of the coral’s mother, considering the only universe with Time Lords was her original.

The Doctor quickly got to his feet and turned. When his eyes fell on her, he froze. “…Rose?” He blanched, his eyes wide and mouth wide open in shock.

She was frozen as well, unable to figure if this was all a dream. If she were able to move, she would have pinched herself. The Doctor was right in front of her…completely broken. It was obvious he was alone, considering he seemed rubbish without a companion to instill humanity in him.

He was shaking his head, disbelief clouding his eyes and she could see the internal battle he was fighting. He did not seem to think she was actually there and that worried her, so she moved slowly toward him. Once she reached him, he slowly raised a hand to cup her cheek, his expression turning instead to wonder. “You came back. The…the signs said Bad Wolf and I thought you would be back, but you weren’t. I…” He looked lost as he shook his head in disbelief. Right after, a broad smile brightened up his face. “Oh, Rose.” Suddenly, he was dragging her to the TARDIS.

Right as they entered, he let go of her hand and ran to the console. He danced around, flipping levers and turning dials, as she closed the door behind her. He looked up after he was done, the smile still on his face, a little too wide and manic for her comfort. “We’re in the vortex. We might as well stay here for a while…to catch up. Yes.” He nodded to himself, then ran back to her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the corridor. “First, check up. Just to make sure no damage came to you while traveling through the dimensions.”

Her heart began to race. She obviously planned to tell him about her change, but not quite so soon. She was still getting over the shock of actually being here. “Uh…yeah, sure.” Better now than never, she figured.

Once in the med bay, he motioned for her to sit on the hospital bed, and then went to set up various machines. She felt slight apprehension from sudden memories of her time in the underground base. She tried to swallow it and held her head high, determined to overcome her newfound fear, but she knew the Doctor could see the fear in her eyes whenever she caught sight of any of the medical equipment.

He looked as though he wanted to say something, but held back, most likely to bring up again later. He went back to typing quickly, but soon, he stopped. He placed his hands on the small desk connected to it, his head hanging. “Rose…I did something bad.”

She simply raised an eyebrow, even though he couldn’t see. She allowed his some time before speaking again.

He raised his head and turned toward her. “I went to Mars.”

She motioned for him to sit next to her. “Come on, tell me what happened. Figuring it wasn’t a normal trip.”

He laughed mirthlessly and followed her instructions. He sat rather close to her, his thigh pressed against hers. “It was a fixed point in time. Captain Adelaide Brooke. She was meant to die on Mars, but I saved her. Believed that the laws of time were mine.” He shook his head, an ironic smile on his face. “Told her I had never saved anyone as big as her, only little people.” He scoffed. “She killed herself. To preserve the timelines.”

She rubbed his arm comfortingly.

He pulled her hand away, gripping it in his own. “I was planning to leave. Enjoy my time left – oh, right, I didn’t tell you. Apparently my ‘song is ending’.” He rolled his eyes. “I had a friend. Companion. Donna. She…” He rubbed his free hand over his face. “She’s gone now. Anyway, she once told me that I need someone to travel with me to tell me when to stop. I realized that she was right. But now…with everyone I cared about gone, what did it matter?”

He looked at her, taking in all her features. “And then you pop up. Right when I need you most. Like…like my guardian angel.”

She blushed and looked down. “Hardly.” She chuckled to alleviate any awkwardness.

His eyes were desperate as he shook his head. “I’m serious Rose. I’ve dreamt of you every night. Finding out again, having you in my arms.”

She swallowed, her thoughts travelling to Alec. She banished these, focusing on the present. “I’ve dreamt of you, too. Tried my hardest to get back.”

He smiled a genuine smile. “That you did, my clever girl.” He stroked her cheek, eyes tender. When he began to lean toward her, she pulled away from his grasp.

She looked down, slightly ashamed. “I’m sorry. Just…a lot has happened lately. Not exactly ready yet.” She figured it wasn’t quite the time to bring up Alec just yet. Things were too fragile; they needed to learn each other again.

He nodded, his face suddenly blank. “Let me run those tests now.”

She took a deep breath, full of apprehension. “Yeah. All right.” She bit her lip and watched carefully as he moved over to her with a machine with various sensors and needles. Her nerves acted up again, a combination of wondering his reaction of what he would find and her past experiences coming to the front of her mind.

He leaned over her, one of the needle-pointed wires in his hand. “You’ll feel only a small prick. I’ll only have a couple needles placed; the rest will be sensors.”

She nodded and swallowed thickly. She subconsciously winced at every pierce and it didn’t take long before he stopped. Brow furrowed in confusion, he set down the next set and sat by her. “Rose, what’s wrong? You never used to shy away from needles.”

She looked down, fidgeting slightly. “Just…some things that happened while I was away. I don’t really want to talk about it right now.” When she raised her eyes to him he looked hesitant to leave it, so she smiled reassuringly. “Let’s continue, yeah?”

Soon, she was all hooked up and his gaze was focused on the screen in front of him. She knew right away when her secret was out of the bag.

“Rose…” He slowly turned to her, his eyes wide. Surprisingly, they were full of tears. “I’m so sorry. So, so sorry.” He shook his head slowly and went over, pulling her in his arms. Rose winced at the tug on the cords and he quickly pulled everything out, grabbing cotton swabs and band-aids to cover the wounds.

She smiled comfortingly. “Don’t be. This means I can give you my forever, yeah? Just like I promised.”

He searched her face, doubt filling his mind. “You promised me that when you believed you would only live for a few more decades. Do you really want to spend the rest of your existence with me?” He sighed and looked down. “Promising this is more than you could possibly understand. It’s practically an eternity with me, Rose.”

She leaned forward and pressed two fingers under his chin, forcing him to look up at her. “I’m positive.” She tilted her head, a soft smile on her face. “Plus, it seems you need someone with you. You were always rubbish alone.” She laughed breathlessly.

He cringed and pulled away, doubt filling him once again at her statement. He didn’t want her doing this only for his benefit.

She caught on quickly and forced him to look at her once again. “And I want to be here with you. When I promised you forever, I meant it. Better with two, yeah?” She smiled that smile; the one with her tongue between her teeth, the one that never failed to cause his hearts to skip a beat.

He smiled softly with swelled hearts and brought his hand to her cheek once again, cupping it gently. “Quite right, too.”

He leaned in slowly and kissed her.

 


End file.
